Large Hand Turned "Petatillo" Stoneware Vase by Xochiquetzal

This special stoneware vase employs the "petatillo" decorative style. According to the authoritative study, Great Masters of Mexican Popular Art, the "petatillo" technique is "one of the most beautiful manifestations of Mexican pottery, which is now rarely found in the popular marketplace." The technique refers to the "delicate crossed lines that resemble a fine 'petate'" or matting, as can be seen in the photos here. "Few are the artisans that practice this art because of the intense work that it requires." Each Xochiquetzal vase is manually shaped on a potter's wheel and painted by hand before firing at a very high temperature.

While the technique was originally applied to clay, the artisans of Xochiquetzal in Tonalá have here applied it to stoneware. This beautiful vase measures 12" in height by approximately 6" in diameter at its widest point.